Shipping-crate



(No Model.)

G. T. BROWN & R. N. MORROW.

SHIPPING CRATE.

Patented Deo. Z1, 1897..

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` UNITED STATES PATENT Orrrcn.

GEORGE TOUSEY BROWN, OF PORTLAND, AND ROBERT NEWELL MORROW, OF SEDALIA, MISSOURI.

SHIPPING-CRATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 595,902, dated December 21, 1897.

Application filed July 22, 1896. Serial No. 600.123. (No model.)

`To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, GEORGE TOUSEY `BROWN, residing at Portland, in the county of Callaway, and ROBERT NEWELL MoRRow, residing at Sedalia, in the county of Pettis, State of Missouri, citizens of the United States, have invented a new and useful Shipping- Crate, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to' shipping-crates, and has for its object to provide a device of the class named which is of cylindrical construction, whereby it is adapted to be rolled, the Weight of the crate being supported by terminal circumferential rims provided for that purpose to hold the side walls out of contact with the surface traversed; to provide means for supporting egg-trays in the crate out of contact wit-h the side walls thereof to prevent side jars from injuring the contents of said trays, and also to provide means Whereby the contents of any or all of the egg-trays in a crate embodying our invention may be inspected without disarranging or removing them and whereby in retailing from the crate the contents of the trays may be successively exposed, While the contents of the remaining trays are concealed and protected.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will appear in the following description, and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claim.

In the drawings, Figure l is a perspective view of a shipping-crate constructed in accordance with our invention. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal section of the same. Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the crate with the upper head and shell omitted and the top covering-disk partly broken away to show the construction of the uppermost tray.

Similar numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the figures of the drawings.

l and 2 designate circular terminal heads provided with peripheral rims or flanges 3, which receive and encircle the contiguous extremities of a cylindrical shell 4.-, whereby said` rimsare arranged outside of the exterior surface of the shell and form circumferential bearing surfaces upon which the crate is adapted to roll, while the intermediate portion of the shell is held wholly out of contact with the surface traversed. These heads are preferably unattached to the shell and are axially connected by avstem 5, which is preferably terminally threaded and tted in central openings formed in the heads. One extremity of this stem is preferably threaded in the opening in the lower head 2, while the openingin the upper head is made of sufficient diameter to fit loosely over the threaded portion of the contiguous end of the stem, which projects beyond the outer surface of the upper head and is engaged by a locking device consisting in the construction illustrated of a bar 6, having a centrally-threaded opening 7.' It will be understood that the lower head may be permanently attached to the contiguous extremity of the stem, and in practice we have found it unnecessary, except under peculiar conditions, to detach the parts at this point; but it is convenient to provide this means for opening the crate at its lower end when it is undesirable to open it in the manner hereinafter fully explained.

The construction illustrated is adapted especially for use as an egg-crate, audit includes an imperforate shell'of any suitable material-such as heavy pasteboard, thin wood, sheet metal, or the equivalent thereof; and a further advantage of threading the lower head upon the contiguous extremity of the stem is that it provides for the detachment of the heads from the stem when the crate is not in use to lenable it to be stored in a small compass.

When the improved crate is to used for shipping eggs and other frangible articles, we employ inclosed trays having cells of' which the size varies according to the articles which they are designed to receive, and when adapted for the shipment of eggs these trays 10 consist of exterior frame-rings 10, an interior concentric core-ring ll, and a plurality of cells l2, of which the bottoms are closed by a disk 13, the core-ring being adapted to receive the stem and fit snugly thereon to prevent lateral displacement or vibration of the trays within the shell. The trays are preferably made of less diameter than the interior surface of the shell, whereby in case the shell IOO is bulged inwardly by contact with an obsitacle during its movement the traysV or other contents will not be affected. It will be understood that the uppermost tray is covered by a disk lil, as shown in Figs. 2 and 8, and if a disk of the necessary thickness or a plurality of disks are used to bring the upper surface thereof flush with the corresponding edge of the shell the tightening of the upper head Will lock the parts of the crate snugly together and thereby gua-rd against jarring and vibration during transportation. Furthermore, it Will be be seen that when the upper head is removed the contents of the upper crate are exposed and that by removing the shell the entire series of trays may be exposed, whereby their contents may be inspected, said trays being held in place by the axial stem, as illustrated in Fig. 3. After inspection the shell and head may be replaced successively, as named.

lVhen it is desired to retail the contents of the trays from the crate, ive have found it desirable to remove the locking device from the exposed extremity of the stem contiguous to the upper head and invert the crate, after `Which the lowerhead, with the attached stem,

may be removed, thus leaving the trays in an inverted position inclosed Within the shell. In order to remove the eggs, the then uppermost tray should be grasped by inserting: a vringer through the core-ring and lifted from the shell, thereby leaving the eggs upon the bottom of the next lower tray, and after removing the eggs thus exposed the succeeding tray may be displaced in the saine manner.

lVhen it is desired to ship bottles or similar frangible containers, the trays may be pro vided with cells of a size to suit the same and arranged substantially as above described.

Various changes in the form, proportion, and the minor details of construction may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit or sacrilicing any `of the advantages of this invention'.

Having described our invention, what we claim is- A shipping-crate havin g a cylindrical openended shell, terminal anged heads removably fitted upon opposite ends of the shell, an axial stem connecting the centers of said heads, the same being secured to one of the heads, extending through an opening in the other head and engaged by a locking device, and a series of trays approximately equal in diameter with the interior of the shell, provided with central openings threaded upon the axial stem and snuglyitting the same to hold the peripheries of the trays out of contact with the shell, and having their interiors divided by partitions to form cells, and loose 'separating-disks also centrally threaded upon the stem and interposed between contiguous trays, the trays being closed at their opposite sides by said disks, substantially as specified.

In testimony that We claim the foregoing as our own We have hereto aiiixed our signatures in the presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE TOUSEY `BROWN. ROBERT NEVELL MORRO\V.

lVitnesses:

LYMAN BARNES IIALL, JOHN CASHMAN. 

